Gates Millennium Scholarship Winning Essays For Scholarships

Gates Millennium Scholarship Essay Example on Community Involvement

Discuss your involvement in and contributions to a community near your home, school or elsewhere. Please select an experience different from the one you discussed in the previous question, even if this experience also involved leadership. What did you accomplish? How did this experience influence your goals?

Gates Millennium Scholarship Essay Example Community Involvement

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), my country of birth, Morocco, ranks in the bottom 10% for literacy amongst all nations in the world. The problem is particularly acute amongst women, due to ingrained cultural practices and prejudices. My mother who is a teacher and also very much an independent thinker, wanted to provide me with the opportunity at a very young age to make a meaningful impact to the lives of the illiterate in our country. On alternate weekends she drove us to the country and I helped teach women and girls how to read and write Arabic. All we had was a small classroom and a chalk board where the women sat on the ground and attended class often at great personal risk to themselves. So intense was their desire to learn. Education was the only way out of their very difficult circumstances in life. Their courage, despite possible harm from their husbands and family, impacted me deeply. I too realized at that early age that education was my way out of my own circumstances in life; thus my drive to attend high school and college here in the US.

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Gates Millennium Scholarship Essay Example on Difficulties

Discuss the subjects in which you have had difficulty. What factors do you believe contributed to your difficulties? How have you dealt with them so they will not cause problems for you again? In what areas have you experienced the greatest improvement? What problem areas remain?

Gates Millennium Scholarship Essay Example Difficulties

Though I excelled in Math enough to advance a year ahead, I relied on a false sense of confidence to help manage my high grades. "Confidence" plus stubbornness prevented any effort to further improve my study habits, ask for help, and do my homework properly. I began to face my academic weaknesses in the 8th grade with Accelerated Geometry. Its difficulty required extra effort on my part and yet I convinced myself that my abilities that had previously placed me at a high honors level would once again reveal itself in the end, that is not what happened.

Both 6th grade Pre-Algebra and 7th grade Algebra began as a challenge, but over time I improved without changing my habits. Mistaking complacency for confidence, I foolishly repeated the same cycle the next year. It resulted in no improvement and a low grade. My immature mindset continued well into my sophomore year in Accelerated Pre-Calculus. Believing that I would never succeed in the class, I never worked to my fullest ability. My insecurities focused more on what I couldn't do than what I could do so I gave up.

My goal after failing Accelerated Pre-Calculus was to build real confidence in my math abilities during my junior year. Beginning with regular Pre-Calculus, I focused on proving my work ethic. I reversed my sophomore year mistakes by applying better habits; I did my homework right away, studied well for quizzes and tests, and I used my class time wisely. Approaching my teacher to request advancing to AP Prep was the testament to my hard work.

AP Prep Pre-Calculus expanded my mind toward the subject with its challenges. I progressed by learning how to mature as a student; I became engaged by taking detailed notes, asking my teacher and peers for guidance, and honing my skills by doing practice tests during my off time. Rather than reverting to my previous stubborn attitude, I adjusted and showed continued improvement.

From Accelerated Geometry and Accelerated Pre-Calculus, I came to realize that complacency kills. As I was so confident in my skills, I was unaware of my problem areas before it was too late and acceptance and laziness came as a result. With regular and AP Prep Pre-Calculus, I learned from my mistakes by adapting. Looking at everything I couldn't easily do as encouragement. I experimented with and implemented various studying habits. Though it's a subject that will always challenge me, I approach not only Math, but all my classes, with a determination to succeed; not with high grades, but with insights to apply later.

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